Cutter apparatus



E. S. LINDAU June 13, 1967 CUTTER APPARATUS 2 SheeLs-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1965 Inventor E r is SL-indavu '52, wawa aa, M40 1- June 13, 1967 E. s. LINDAU 3,324,753

CUTTER APPARATUS Filed March 1; 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2:

82 i M [a 2 1 II In Invenh r Eric 3. Lindau. 53 fi i'torneigs United States Patent ()fifice 3,324,753 Patented June 13, 1967 This invention relates to machines having cutters, shearers or the like.

In the modern business worid large amounts of films and magnetic tapes bearing information of a confidential .nature are accumulated. Often these films and tapes are on reels, thereby rendering them difficult to burn or mutilate. Burning may give off offensive odors, and mutilation by hand is a time-consuming process, particularly Where the reels of film, magnetic tapes or the like are many feet in length. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to destroy such film or the like by automatically severing the same into very small particles, thereby destroying the intelligence thereon and rendering it virtually impossible to reassemble the intelligence from the severed particles. Another object of the present invention is to feed and cut automatically pieces of film strips, reels of film, or the like into small particles. Another object of the invention is to simultaneously out several reels of filmlike material and to commingle the cut portions, thereby rendering more difficult reassembly of the cut particles to have access to the information thereon.

The present invention is also directed to material @18- posal handling problems of the modern business office in that the present cutter is particularly suited for use as a business machine for positioning on a desk or like stand adjacent a waste basket into which these shredded particles may be disposed. For use in the business ofiice the machine must be compact in size, free from noise and vibrations and simple in operation for use by a number of persons. Accordingly, another object of the invention is a cutter of the foregoing type which is particularly suited for use as an office machine in a business omce.

While the present invention is particularly adapted for handling reels of film or the like, it is also readily adapted to handling sheet materials such as transparencies or sheets of materials which are to be severed. A further object of the invention is a machine readily adapted to handle either sheets or webs, and also readily adaptable to handle a plurality of different sizes of films and sheets. A more specific object of the invention is Web guiding means for guiding the webs in a cutter from reels of webs having a plurality of widths of webs, tapes or the like.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following descriptions claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what is now considered to be the best mode contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine mounted on a desk and constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the operating instrumentalities of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the feeding of the material into the machine; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a cutter cutting a web of film or the like.

The present invention is particularly adapted for use as a business machine in an office and to be disposed on the corner of a desk or suitable small stand within the office for ready use in disposing of materials bearing confidential information. The preferred embodiment of the invention is compact in size, that is, it occupies the space within a cube of fifteen inches on each side. Thus, the size of the machine of the present invention is comparable to that of an electric typewriter or the like commonly employed in business offices.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a machine In constructed in accor ance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. The machine 16 has an outer frame including a pair of vertically extending side plates 12 and 13 and a bottom or base plate 14. Preferably, the frame 11 supports a front cover plate 16, FIG. 2, which extends between the side plates 11 and 12 at the front of the machine and which extends upwardly over the front end of the machine to cover the cutting means 18 and feeding means 20. An additional side cover 22 of generally triangular configuration, as seen in FIG. 1, is disposed over the driving means 24 which includes a sheave 25 of a driving motor M.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the drivmotor M is a /z-h.p. motor and is secured by a suitable set of attaching bolts 3:? to the base plate 14. The driving motor M is adapted to provide the power for driving the cutting means 18 as well as the driving means it) from its rotating shaft 31. The shaft 31 has a large sheave 32 and a smaller sheave 33 each secured thereto for rotation with its shaft 31. A driving belt 33 is disposed about the large sheave 32 and leads to a sheave 35, FIG. 3, disposed on the end of a cutter shaft 38 for rotating the cutter shaft 38. The smaller sheave 31 is disposed outwardly of the motor of the large sheave 32 on the shaft 31 and drives a belt 49 leading to a heave 42 secured to a stop shaft 4 5- which is journaled for rotation in a bearing 45, FIG. 3. The shaft 44 also bears a split pulley or sheave 43 about which is entrained a belt St? for driving a sheave 52 to the end of an upper feed roller shaft 53.

The cutting means 18 is preferably driven by the large sheave 32 at a single rotational speed; whereas preferably the speed of feeding the material is varied. Also, the speed of the material feed is stepped down from the speed of the cutting means by means of the size of the various sheaves 33, 42, 48 and 52. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the speed of the motor is approximately 1790 r.p.m.; the speed of the cutter means is approximately 240 r.p.m.; and the speed of the feed means 20 is approximately 1700 rpm. For the purpose of varying feeding speed of the material the pulley 48 is split into relatively movable halves 48A and 4813 each having a beveled driving surface 54, FIG 3, which engages the driving belt 5t In the familiar manner, movement of pulley halves 48A and 48B toward one another raises the driving belt 54') on the respective beveled driving surfaces and movement of the pulley halves 48A and 48B away from each other permits the driving belt 50 to be lowered. The split pulley half 4813 is biased toward the split half 48A by a compression spring 56 disposed between the side wall 12 and the outer surface of the pulley half 48B. For the purpose of moving sheave half 43B closer to the side frame 12 and thereby permitting the belt 5% to move downwardly along the driving surfaces 54, a lever ea pivoted on a bracket 61 can be moved to force a roller 53 against the sheave 48B, moving the sheave to a selected one of a plurality of positions. Thus the speed of the driving belt 50 for the feed means can be varied by an operator moving the lever 60.

The feed means 20 includes a lower supporting feed roller o4 journaled for rotation between the side walls 12 and 13. The upper feed roller 65 has a central shaft 53 journaled for rotation on a pair of bearings 67 secured to the opposite side plates 12 and 13. Preferably, the outer surface portion of the feed roller 65 is made of a rubber, plastic, or suitable type friction material for frictional engaging work such as films inserted into the bight B, FIG. 2, between the shafts 64 and the rotating feed roller 65.

The cutting means 18 includes the supporting shaft 38 which is driven by the driving belt 33 on which are secured three separate sections 70a, 7th: and 730, which constitute a cutter 70. Preferably, the three cutter sections 70a, 70b and 70c are each formed with a curved type of cutting blade wherein the cutting surface is of a generally spiral nature formed by the edges S. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular type of cutter blade employed herein and has been successfully employed with blades of different configurations.

An important aspect of the present invention is the ability of the blades S to have a very close cutting relationship with the fixed blade 72 secured to a bar 73 extending across the width of the machine and attached to the respective side blades 12 and 13. Preferably, the fixed blade 72 is disposed adjacent the exit of the feeding means 20 so that the film or sheet material moving across the upper surface of the fixed blade 72 moves over the pointed edge 75 of the fixed blade 72 wherein a shearing action between the revolving blade 7 t} and the fixed blade 72 severs the material into very fine pieces. The size of the material being shredded can be adjusted down to as fine as a few thousandths of an inch or may be considerably larger, up to of an inch for example, or more. The size of the shredded piece is adjusted by controlling the rate of feed of the web of material rather than changing the speed of rotation of the revolving blade 78. The spacing between the blades 72 and 74 can be adjusted by moving the revolving cutter shaft 33 journaled in bearings 77, FIG. 3, mounted in slidable blocks 78, FIG. 3. The slidable blocks 78 are disposed for sliding movement in a rectangular, slotted guideway 80 formed in each of the respective side walls 11 and 13. It is preferred that the supporting blocks 78 for the revolving cutter 7i? be movable within the guiding slots 80 upon turning of adjustment bolts 52 secured at spaced relationship to a fixed spacer bar 84. It is preferred practice to bring the edges S of the revolving cutter 7% into very close relationship with the cutting edge 75 of the fixed blade 72 which keeps the blades sharp as though they were self-sharpening. vSuch close cutting mechanically destroys emulsion or magnetic properties on the strip being severed, rendering the possibility of restoration of the intelligence thereon most difiicult, if not impossible.

The present invention is particularly adapted for efficient destruction of a large quantity of filrn or film-like material F disposed on a plurality of reels R, FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment of the invention a pair of spaced bracket arms 88 are secured to the respective side plates 13 and 12 by suitable fasteners 89. The bracket arms 83 extend upwardly and at an oblique angle from the side plates 12 and 13. The ends of the arms 88 are formed with notches 99 for receipt of a spindle shaft 91 on which are disposed for rotation of the plurality of reels As best seen in FIG. 4, a reel shaft 91 has on its ends a pair of knurled knobs 94 and 95 which are adapted to be seated in the notches 90 of the respective bracket arms 88. The knob 95 is secured by a pin 96, FIG. 4, to the shaft 91. A free, pointed end 97 of the spindle 91 is free to be inserted and separated from a receiving bore 93 therefor in the knurled knob 94. When assembling a plurality of reels on the spindle 91, the knob 94 is removed from the free end 97 of the spindle and the free end 97 of the spindle is inserted into the center opening in the reel R. Next a spacer 99 is inserted over the pointed end 97 of the spindle 91.1nsequential order a number of reels R and intermediate spacers 99 can be placed on the spindle 91. The assembled reels on the spindle 91 may thus be assembled and brought tothe machine 10 and laced into the notches 9G in the supporting bracket arms 5.

When employing the cutter 10 to shred, cut or otherwise sever the separate webs of film carried on the reels R, it is preferred that each of the film webs F be guided separately into a guiding slot 1%, FIG. 3, formed Within a film guiding means or bar 162. The guiding slots are formed in recesses afforded between a series of spacers 19 i, IG. 3, secured by fasteners to the bar 102. Different widths of spacers 104 are employed to guide the side edges of the different width webs.

It is to be understood that the transparency sheets, slides, sheets of paper and other materials can be inserted on the guide plate 192 and disposed into the bight B of the opposed feed rollers 53 and 64 for feeding into the cutting position. After being severed by the revolving blade S, the small particles drop downwardly into the direction of the arrows indicated in FIG. 2 and through a chute formed between the front plate 16 and a vertical 7 chute plate 116. When cutting a plurality of films or the like, it will be manifest that the severed particles are comrningled together as particles fall through the chute and are discharged out the opening 117 which can be disposed over a waste basket or other similar container for receiving the severed particles.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides the automatic disposal and cutting of various materials in an efilcacious manner and particularly for the disposal of web or film-like materials. Also the compact size and design of the present invention facilitates its use as an ofiice machine.

Hence, while I have illustrated preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification.

I claim:

1. In a cutter suitable for use as an office machine for destruction of webs of plastic material bearing indicia thereon stored on reels, a frame means, means on said frame means for supporting said reels for rotation of the reel to unwind the material thereon, said means adapted to unwind said material from said reels, cutting means in said frame means including a rotatable spiral blade for cutting said material into discrete small particles rendering the information thereon unintelligible, and guide means for said webs of material for guiding said webs from said reels into said feeding means, said guide means forming spaced individual passageways to keep said webs from engaging as they are being severed by said spiral blade, said guide means being adjustable to accept different sizes of webs of material.

2. In a cutter suitable for use as an ofiice machine for destruction of films, magnetic tape or the like stored on reels, a frame means including a pair of spaced side frames, motor means disposed within said side frames, spindle means for holding a plurality of reels, means on said frame means for supporting said spindle means for rotation of the reels to unwind the materials thereon, feed roller means disposed between said side plates and driven by said motor means to unwind said material from said reels, a fixed cutting blade extending between said side 7 frames, and a rotatable cutting blade between said side plates and rotatably driven by said motor means, said rotatable blade having a spiral shearing edge to shear progressively across said films and for shearing said material into discrete small particles, and chute means for receiving said particles and mixing said particles to render more difficult reassembly of said particles.

3. In a cutter suitable for use as an office machine for destruction of films, magnetic tape or the like stored on reels, a frame means including a pair of spaced side frames, motor means disposed within said side frames, spindle means for holding a plurality of reels, means on said frame means for supporting said spindle means for rotation of the reels to unwind the materials thereon, feed roller means disposed between said side plates and driven by said motor means to unwind said material from said reels, a fixed cutting blade extending between said side frame, a rotatable cutting blade between said side plates and rotatably driven by said motor means, said rotatable blade having a spiral edge for shearing progressively across said films and for shearing said material into diserete small particles, said feed roller means feeding said films individually forwardly before shearing by said spiral edge, chute means for receiving said particles and mixing said particles to render more difficult reassembly of said particles, and adjustment means on said side frames for supporting one of said blades, said adjustment means being movable relative to the other of said blades to adjust the spacing between the blades and thereby the size of particles cut by said blades.

4. In a cutter suitable for use as an oflice machine for destruction of webs of material stored on reels, a frame means, means on said frame means for supporting a reel for rotation of the reel to unwind the material thereon, said means adapted to unwind said material from said References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,448,723 3/ 1923 Brundage 83-449 X 2,045,721 1/1936 Penwell 83-555 2,297,368 9/1942 Rippl et al 83-355 X 3,071,175 1/1963 Karkoska 83-672 X 3,146,653 9/1964 Kuts u 83-356 X 3,186,277 1/1965 Brunner 83-355 3,228,274 1/1966 Cagen 83-355 X WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

JAMES M. MEISTER, ANDREW R. JUHASZ,

Examiners. 

1. IN A CUTTER SUITABLE FOR USE AS AN OFFICE MACHINE FOR DESTRUCTION OF WEBS OF PLASTIC MATERIAL BEARING INDICIA THEREON STORED ON REELS, A FRAME MEANS, MEANS ON SAID FRAME MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID REELS FOR ROTATION OF THE REEL TO UNWIND THE MATERIAL THEREON, SAID MEANS ADAPTED TO UNWIND SAID MATERIAL FROM SAID REELS, CUTTING MEANS IN SAID FRAME MEANS, INCLUDING A ROTATABLE SPIRAL BLADE FOR CUTTING SAID MATERIAL INTO DISCRETE SMALL PARTICLES RENDER- 